Bassoonarama 12/17/18 Sudler Hall Yale

How do you know when Christmas has arrived?  It's when Professor Frank Morelli and his cadre of merry bassoonsters have their holiday recital in Yale's Sudler Hall. The format is similar, they come out and play a few holiday tunes, and then splinter into solos or smaller groups. The theme was the "four Bs", Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, and Brazil. The Brazil component was interesting in that it highlighted the compositions of Mignone. The Italian Brazilian heritage came through in the music. One PDQ Bach offering, "Lip My Reeds", had the crew take off their reeds and quack in unison. The bassoon is a very expressive instrument, one student's solo made full use of the large range, from the low end percussive tones to the mournful high register. In one piece, the large contrabassoon, so large that it needed its own chair for stability, fleshed out the low bass notes. The oboe studio, three oboes and an English horn joined the crew for a rousing Hungarian dance. Ended the show with Feliz Navidad and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.